Pentagon Officials tour Peterson Air Force Base as final decision for U.S. Space Command nears

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Peterson Air Force Base leaders welcomed officials with the Pentagon to tour the temporary headquarters of U.S. Space Command.

Peterson Air Force Base is one of six finalists in the running for the permanent headquarters. On Tuesday, those who will help make the final decision were given an on-site tour of the air force base.

The tour was originally going to happen in December, but one of the Pentagon officials tested positive for COVID-19, which delayed the tour to Tuesday.

Reggie Ash, the Chief Defense Development Officer for the Colorado Springs Chamber, and EDC was there for the visit and says it could not have gone any better.

"I thought the tour went great today it was very apparent from everything that the leadership at Peterson said how great they are already supporting U.S. Space Command, how great that leadership thinks their relationships with the community is," Ash says.

The tour lasted about seven hours with officials asking about current operations, child development centers, and community partnerships. Housing for general officers was also an important topic.

"Because they have to have specialized communications that go into their houses because of what they are required to do at all hours of the day," Ash says. As the temporary headquarters, Peterson already has all of that, and at no point did the Air Force Base fail to meet the requirements the Pentagon is looking for. Ash says, "It was just a very pleasant experience that they didn't come up with any 'gotchas' so to speak."

The Pentagon is expected to make its final decision before inauguration day, which is about two weeks away.